Product description

This searing indictment, David Healy's most comprehensive and forceful argument against the pharmaceuticalization of medicine, tackles problems in health care that are leading to a growing number of deaths and disabilities. Healy, who was the first to draw attention to the now well-publicized suicide-inducing side effects of many anti-depressants, attributes our current state of affairs to three key factors: product rather than process patents on drugs, the classification of certain drugs as prescription-only, and industry-controlled drug trials. These developments have tied the survival of pharmaceutical companies to the development of blockbuster drugs, so that they must overhype benefits and deny real hazards. Healy further explains why these trends have basically ended the possibility of universal health care in the United States and elsewhere around the world. He concludes with suggestions for reform of our currently corrupted evidence-based medical system.

Author information

David Healy is Professor of Psychiatry at Cardiff University in Britain and a former Secretary of the British Association for Psychopharmacology. He is the author of books including Let Them Eat Prozac: The Unhealthy Relationship Between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Depression, The Antidepressant Era, and Mania: A Short History of Bipolar Disorder.

Review quote

"Healy's contrarian streak and sharpness make this a disturbing, well-documented indictment that echoes many others in recent years, and one worth heeding." Publishers Weekly 20120130 "Powerful... Healy exposes the secrets that enable drug companies to circumvent protections... And he also offers a solution." Human Givens 20121201

Flap copy

"This meticulously documented book makes extraordinary claims with far-reaching intellectual and practical ramifications. It is the most powerful critique of the contemporary medical-industrial complex that I know."--Andrew T. Scull, author of "Hysteria" and "Madness: A Very Short Introduction"
"This book shines a bright light on the pharmaceutical industry (and American healthcare) in the same way that "Silent Spring" called out the chemical industry and "Unsafe at Any Speed" called out the automobile industry. "Pharmageddon" is Healy's most important book to date. It will make a real contribution toward healing our sick system of pharmaceutical-driven medicine and helping doctors provide better care for their patients."--Elizabeth Siegel Watkins, author of "The Estrogen Elixir" and "On the Pill"
"In this startling book, David Healy argues that 'evidence-based' medicine--and a healthy dose of corrupt science--has led modern medicine off a cliff. His book is provocative, challenging, and informative, and ultimately it serves as a powerful manifesto for rethinking modern medicine."--Robert Whitaker, author of "Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America"
"Like a good detective story, "Pharmageddon" weaves together the history of modern medicine, the evolution of clinical trials and statistical analyses, changes in international patent laws, privatization of clinical research, blurring of the line between academics and industry, and the enabling role of medical journals. If you want to learn how to protect yourself (or your patients) from medical commercialism and how medical practice can be re-directed back toward its true mission, this book is a must read."--John Abramson, author of "Overdosed America"

Table of contents

Acknowledgments Introduction 1. They Used to Call It Medicine 2. Medicine and the Marketers 3. Follow the Evidence 4. Doctoring the Data 5. Trussed in Guidelines 6. The Mismeasurement of Medicine 7. The Eclipse of Care 8. Pharmageddon Notes Index